Introduction

It has been a bit since we last saw one another here in Report land, but there have been some big changes afoot over the last little while. As such, this report comes at a great time to bring some additional light to all of these developments, so let's get to it.

Elder and You

First thing's first, I want to highlight the recent promotions of two of our own to the rank of Elder: Our Proconsul Alaris Jinn and former Consul and Howie-minion Teylas Ramar. These two have made incalculable contributions to both our Clan and the Brotherhood as a whole, and it was well past time for their advancement to the rank of Elder. This development, however, is about more than just them. In Evant's recent news post on the subject 12 current members of the Brotherhood were together recognized with elevations to Elder.

For too long the glass ceiling has been there, seemingly an impassable barrier for the overwhelming majority of the members. You haven't been on the Dark Council or had exceedingly extended Consul tenures along with other DC adjacent positions? Tough luck. But, that glass ceiling is seeming a lot more like glass than it did a week ago. Plagueis has nine EQ4's on our roster, which at nearly a third of our members leaves us as the unit with the highest ratio of EQ4's in the Brotherhood. What I want to say to those of you who are at that rank, or may find themselves there in the future, is this: While it still isn't easy to attain Elder within the Brotherhood, going forward there is at least a viable path forward for people to get there. I make no promises as to the result, but know that you have a Consul who will always fight to see his members recognized when their record merits it. And it appears that the Brotherhood's leadership is moving to recognize Elders on the merits of their work as opposed to some nebulous "What it means to be Elder" standard as in years past. So, while the road will still be incredibly difficult to travel, at least now you should not see it as one that is blocked by a solid wall. I'm sure there will be even more developments in this area as the Brotherhood re-examines its advancement model in totality with the XP system that we should be seeing in the future, but even as we stand today it is my hope that our members will take a bit more hope from what they have seen so far.

PvP is dead. Long live PvP.

Another DC post that merits an above the fold headline is the most recent Fist Report. PvP as it has existed in the Brotherhood for longer than some of our members have been alive is no more. Does this mean you won't be able to play Hearthstone or Jedi Academy anymore? Well, no. What it really means is that the onerous, restrictive, and byzantine rules and processes that have in the past governed duel-style PvP are going to be replaced with a system that better replicates the PvO/PvE model.

No more queuing with the bot. No more restrictions on how and where matches are set up. No more getting fewer clusters for your time/effort if you don't win the PvP match. All of that is, as of now, in the bin. Those PvP platforms are currently closed for maintenance so that they can be replaced by a simple screenshot = clusters for all model that most of our gamers are already familiar with. In addition, the Brotherhood specific term "PvO" is also going to be retired and will be replaced by a collective PvP label. That means that whether or not you're playing against a DB member or with a DB member against other players, it will always be PvP. I would highly encourage you to take in Drac's report where he goes over the specifics and reasoning for the change in more detail, or feel free to reach out to me or any member of the Fist staff for clarification.

Artifacts!

In keeping with the new artifact policy, Plagueis has been granted three new artifacts that were developed by myself and Alaris:

• Mortis Crystal - A lightsaber crystal that can drain Force energy.

• Rakatan Energy Transfer Device - A Rakatan device designed for capital punishment that can transfer life energy from one person to another.

• Serreno Astrolabe - A Force imbued artifact that can be used for hyperspace navigation in a similar manner to the Chiss ozyly-esehembo.

The Astrolabe will remain aboard the flagship of the Ascendant Fleet the Ascendancy and in the possession of the Clan as a whole, but the first two will be made available to the membership based on some as yet not finalized activity metrics. However, it is likely that the Mortis Crystal will be awarded based on an ongoing, holistic activity metric while the Rakatan Energy Transfer Device will be awarded for performance during major competitions and/or Vendettas. Additionally, while all three artifacts currently display on our Clan possessions list, fictionally only the last of them is currently in the possession of the Clan. Where do the other two come from, you might ask? Good question…

Echoes of Jusadih

For those of you who saw the latest Pulsfeed News Aggregator, you saw the Clan Plagueis update covering the travel of Proconsul Alaris Jinn back to our former home system of Jusadih. That trip wasn't a simple sight seeing tour or nostalgia trip, but was instead something that will lead into our next major Clan competition Echoes of Jusadih. The specific details of the event are still being ironed out at this juncture, but will involved both House Tyranus and House Ventress being tasked with a return to Kapsina (the former capital planet of Plagueis) to retrieve long lost artifacts from the hidden vaults of Plagueis and the di Plagia that were left behind nearly a decade ago following the Horizons Crisis and Plagueis being driven from Kapsina. For a primer on the event, feel free to watch the following:

This dive into Plagueis history will also be focused on the future lore of the Brotherhood as well, as we plan on working with Voice Idris Adenn to incorporate the Children of Mortis into the storyline as well. I wonder what interest they might have with Plaguiean artifacts…

Schedule wise the Summit and I are looking at a end of February start date for the competition, which should offer a full lineup of all of the Brotherhood's competition types much as the Pro Bowl has. Please keep an eye out for further updates from the Summit in the coming month+ across reports, news posts, and our Discord channel as the event develops.

Ask the Dread Lord

We had some great questions this time around, so without further ado:

Korvis asks: We have seen a lot of changes in the club the last few months. Aside from the mass Elder promotions, what has been your favorite change we have seen lately?

Probably the return of a good schedule and pace of awarding across the board. This is more than just a Plagueis thing, but I will for sure toot our horn for helping lead the charge. Making sure all of our members are getting timely and frequent recognition is absolutely crucial. Taking the time to thank our members for their hard work by writing out a recommendation for Panda review is the least we should be doing for everyone out there in our units, and across the board it looks like Summits are doing just that. Huzzah!

Sinya asks: I love the custom items you helped create for Plagueis. What is your next project?

On the lore side, the above mentioned event is the big one. Outside of that, I have tried to refrain from making big, top down dictations on lore and setting and just asked to be in the loop to provide feedback on what other members of the summit and the membership at large are working on. The one thing I think I've learned since my last stint in the Consul chair is that people tend to be more invested in things they have a hand in as opposed to things that are dropped down atop them from on high. So, I've been trying to keep a light touch on the tiller so to speak.

Alaris asks: What is the most important thing you would teach new leaders?

Two things: First, there is nothing more important than directly engaging with your subordinates and your members. Second, the activity assessment tool is your closest friend. The site does most all of the work for you in tracking your members for recognition, just make sure you keep your eyes on it frequently. Constantly? One of the two.

Raleien asks: For those who might not see potential complexity in 'evil' Dark Side characters, how would you pitch the fun of writing a character who has a Darker alignment?

Mostly by pointing out all the great "evil" characters out there that run the entire spectrum of bad guys. With the exception of the Marvel films for the most part, almost any property out there has great villains with great stories to tell. Who would you rather write for, Batman or any of his villains?

Kamjin asks: When did you realize that Kamjin was your personal hero and that you couldn't live without him noticing you. No need to wait for the report, you can answer me in DM.

You will always be first-Mav to me.

Mauro asks: Will the clan continue, fictionally, to dominate its local territory and impose its iron will by taking subjects by force and annexation?

It's funny, because honestly it's seemed like we've moved away from that somewhat over the last few years. At least with Selika back on the throne we'll see a bit of a return to that sort of foreign policy, though with more engagement with the other Clans as well. Though, as far as dominating local territory and imposing will by Force, there might be some other factions out there with something to say about that. Stay tuned!

Anubis asks: With the incoming planetary assets, planning on doing big things?

The Pinnacle is pretty big, but I guess it would look pretty good with a frickin' laser beam on its head. In all seriousness, though, I've done a lot of the creation of the setting of Plagueis already back when Aliso was being built. Hopefully Clan Assets will end up being something that I can just be the middleman on as I load content created by the members into the system.

Andromeda asks: What are you hoping for Plagueis members to do this coming year?

The big one here is to make me and the summit exhausted in writing out award and promo recommendations, and to have fun doing that. Doing more stuff gets a person more stuff, and as somebody that also works in the DB Store I want everyone to be able to buy all the stuff that they want and reach their goals (shout out to Zuser and his custom lightsaber!).

Tahiri asks: What are you hoping to see between the two houses, fictionally?

I'd love to see some rivalry for the throne's favor seep into fictional developments here. It's a nice through line that can work its way into almost any fictional development or event. Besides, infighting and backstabbing is always good for some fun!

Tahiri follows up with: Are there any other locations or sites that you plan on possibly being on Aliso or in orbit?

Knowing what's coming down the pipe Clan Assets wise, I'm really hoping so. Aliso was always supposed to have a bit of that frontier planet feel to it, but there's nothing stopping us from developing things further. It seems like we've got Aliso City and a few holdovers from the old Houses but that's about it. Expect some more developments here, and hopefully the members will have some good things we can leverage into the new system as well.

Brotherhood News

• Fist Report #40 - The one where Drac straight ices PvP.
• Regent Report #8 - The one with Artifacts, Planetary Assets, and Boosters.
• Tribune: SWTOR Report #1 The one where Blade has a plan.
• Exarch #2 - The one with the State of the Roleplay Union.
• Voice Report #11 - The one with the rubric.
• Headmistress Report: Society Expansion - The one with the Aurora Collegium.

In Closing

With the calendar flipping to 2022 and my one year CONniversary fast approaching, I've been looking back on 2021 and what it has meant to Plagueis. I could not be happier at what I've seen from our Clan over the last year, both from our Summit as well as the membership at large. Swaths of activity have lead to everyone on the leadership team working overtime to get medals and promotion recommendations written, submitted, and approved by the Panda in numbers unseen within the Ascendant Clan in several years. 2021 was truly the year when we collectively lived up to the Clan motto: Adapt. Ascend. Avail.

Here's to 2022, everyone!